Parents of children 'gifted' to convicted rapist Lee Kaplan each receive up to 7 years in state prison
By James O'Malley, staff writer
Lee Kaplan, 52, of the 400 block of Old Street Road in Lower Southampton, allegedly was found to have been keeping 12 girls ranging in ages 6 months to 18 years old at his home after a neighbor called Bucks County Children and Youth on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
The Lancaster County couple who authorities say "gifted" their children to now-convicted child rapist Lee Kaplan have been sentenced for their roles in their daughters' years of sexual abuse.
For his part, the 44-year-old father of the Lower Southampton man's six victims was ordered to serve 3½ years to seven years in a state prison.
Bucks County President Judge Jeffrey L. Finley acknowledged that while the sentence for the father is the maximum allowed by law, the judge said he would have imposed more time in prison if he "had the authority to do so."
The father said in court: "I regret having put my children through what they've been through this past year." He added that he hoped to someday reunite with his children.
Finley later sentenced the victims' 43-year-old mother to three years to seven years in state prison. The minimum limit of her sentence was due to her cooperating with authorities in their investigation of Kaplan.
She and her husband received credit for time served since June 16, 2016.
Police last year accused the couple of giving their children to Kaplan, saying the children were "gifted" to him after he helped the family financially and helped them transition out of the Amish community.
The couple pleaded to their roles in early April, with the victims' father pleading no contest to a count of child endangerment while his wife admitted guilt to the same charge.
A jury in June convicted Kaplan, 52, of raping or sexually abusing six of the girls found living in his Old Street Road, Feasterville, home.
His victims range in age from 9 to 19. The youngest victim said she was 7 the first time Kaplan had sex with her.
Kaplan is set for sentencing in September.
Testimony at Kaplan's trial painted the man as a master manipulator who convinced his victims' family he was a religious prophet.
In total, 13 people, including Kaplan and the victims' mother, were found living in his home.
Each of the victims, along with their mother, testified that they still loved Kaplan, who they said took them each as his wives.
Despite admitting her continued affection for Kaplan, the victims' mother cooperated with the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in its prosecution.
In a recorded conversation, she is heard convincing her reluctant daughters to "tell the truth" about their abuse.
Laurel County grandmother, husband charged
in sexual abuse of 12-year-old
BY MORGAN EADS
A Laurel County grandmother and her husband have been charged in the sexual abuse and punishment of a 12-year-old child, according to the sheriff’s office.
Robert Douglas Smith, 46, is charged with first-degree sexual abuse. His wife, Candice Bertha Smith, 60, is charged with second-degree criminal abuse, according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office. Both are from London. They were arrested Tuesday.
Robert Smith, the child’s step-grandfather, is accused of showing pornography to the child on a cellphone, making inappropriate comments and inappropriately touching the child, according to the sheriff’s office.
When the child told her grandmother, Candice Smith, about what happened, Candice Smith locked the child out of the house, according to the sheriff’s office. The Smiths also are accused of failing to provide food and water for the child.
Candice and Robert Smith are being held in the Laurel County jail.
Laurel Co., KY
Seguin man indicted on 8 charges of sexual
abuse of a child covering a decade
By Caleb Downs
A 68-year-old Seguin man has been indicted on eight charges related to child sexual abuse, with the earliest recorded case occurring more than a decade ago, according to online Guadalupe County records.
Gary Michael Smith faces six charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14-years-old and a final charge of indecent exposure to a child. He was booked into the Guadalupe County Jail on June 12 on a $1.8 million bond.
Seven of the charges against Smith originated between June 1, 2004, and August 15, 2004. The final charge allegedly occurred on Jan. 1, 2015.
State’s high court rejects appeal of 60-year
sentence in child sex assaults
By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff
An Augusta man must serve 60 years in prison for sexually assaulting two boys who attended his karate school, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled Tuesday.
Wade Robert Hoover, 39, will begin serving that sentence after he completes a 40-year sentence on federal charges. He is due to be released from a U.S. penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona, in August 2047, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator website.
Hoover, who pleaded guilty in 2015 in state court to four counts of gross sexual assault, admitted that in 2012 he drugged and sexually abused two boys who were enrolled at his Lewiston karate studio. He also admitted that he videotaped the assaults, which took place in Kennebec and Somerset counties.
Scott Hess, Hoover’s Augusta attorney for the state case, argued that the 60-year sentence was disproportionate to the crimes he committed and violates the Maine Constitution.
“Twenty-five to 30 years in prison would have been sufficient to meet the goal of public safety,” Hess told the justices at oral arguments in May at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.
The state’s high court disagreed.
“Hoover urges that a more lenient sentence was appropriate because he did not physically injure, kidnap, torture, maim, mutilate, or murder the victims,” Justice Donald Alexander wrote for the court. “However, the gravity of the offenses for which Hoover was convicted is substantial given the court’s findings of the victims’ young ages, Hoover’s repeated sexual assaults over a period of years, breaches of the victims’ trust, the use of drugs to incapacitate the victims, penetration, and the memorialization of his sexual violence by photographing and videotaping his degrading acts.”
Hoover’s attorney, Scott Hess, asked the justices to create criteria similar to those used in murder cases to guide judges in determining when to impose de facto life sentences in child sexual abuse case. The court refused.
“Sixty years is not too long of a prison sentence for the gross sexual assault of two children,” said Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, whose office prosecuted Hoover. “The number one purpose of our criminal laws is to protect the most vulnerable of our society. No one is more vulnerable than a child. I am grateful to the law court for upholding the sentence and affirming the convictions.”
The Legislature in the last decade has passed laws that increased penalties in child sexual assault cases, but has not imposed a mandatory minimum sentence.
Under Maine’s version of Jessica’s Law, judges are to start their sentencing analyses at 20 years if the victim is under the age of 12. There is no maximum penalty.
Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy in February 2016 sentenced Hoover to 25 years on the charge out of Somerset County and 35 years on the three counts out of Kennebec County. She ordered that Hoover serve the two state sentences consecutively, with the combined 60-year sentence to be served concurrently with his 40-year federal sentence for production and possession of child porngraphy.
The court on Tuesday upheld those sentences.
This was the second time the state supreme court has ruled on an appeal by Hoover. In August 2015, the justices unanimously rejected an argument that the prosecution of Hoover in state and federal court violated the Constitutional protection against double jeopardy.
Madera man convicted of child sexual abuse
For The Madera Tribune
Pedro Montoya of Madera has been convicted of five counts of sexual abuse against children, according to Madera County District Attorney David Linn.
He is scheduled to be sentenced July 28 to 85 years to life in state prison, Linn said.
He will appear before Madera Superior Court Judge Mitchell Rigby in Department 29.
Montoya was convicted June 29 by a jury which found that the defendant committed the acts against multiple victims.
Linn commended the work of Madera Police Det. Brent Cederquist for his investigatory work, Senior Deputy District Attorney Traci Wise for prosecuting the case, and the Victims Services Community Action Partnership Advocates for supporting the child victims throughout the court process, which lasted some two years.
Linn also commended the young victims for their bravery in disclosing the crimes that had been committed against them.
Akron man sentenced 8 to 16 years in prison
for sex abuse of 2 boys
LANCASTERONLINE | Staff
An Akron man was sentenced up to 16 years in prison for sexual abuse of two pre-teenage boys, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's office.
Jay E. Horning, 28, pleaded guilty in March to 10 felonies regarding abuse in Ephrata in 2004 and 2006, according to the district attorney's office.
The charges were a result of an investigation into offenses that allegedly took places some 10 years ago, according to a previous LancasterOnline report.
Horning will serve to 8 to 16 years in prison for the crimes including rape of a child, according to sentence ordered by Lancaster County Judge David Ashworth.
The crimes happened at a location on Meadow Valley Road. Horning and the boys' families were acquaintances, according to the district attorney's office.
Lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Karen Mansfield asked Ashworth to order consecutive prison terms for each victim.
Ashworth ordered consecutive terms and told Horning he will "serve sentences for trauma he caused both victims," according to the district attorney's office.
Cuba man, Hinsdale woman charged with
child sex crimes
By TOM DINKI, Olean Times Herald
A Cuba man and Hinsdale woman have been charged with sex crimes against a child.
Richard J. Edwards, 36, of Cuba, was charged Monday with first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child younger than 13, a class B felony, while Heidi N. Edwards, 33, of Hinsdale, was charged Monday with first-degree sexual abuse against a child younger than 11, a class D felony, according to New York State Police. Heidi Edwards was additionally charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
The two were arrested at 4:15 p.m. Monday for alleged crimes that were reported at 10:42 p.m. Sunday, according to state police.
A call to Trooper James O’Callaghan, public information officer for New York State Police Troop A, was not returned by press time.
Second child sex abuse lawsuit filed against teacher, Baldwin Park preschool
Lawyer Jeff Herman discusses lawsuits he filed against a preschool teacher and the center where he worked when two boys said they were sexually assaulted.
Krista Torralva, Orlando Sentinel
A second family who has accused a former preschool teacher at a Baldwin Park daycare center of sexually assaulting their son filed a lawsuit this week against the teacher and the center where they say the abuse happened during nap times and in the bathrooms.
“What these boys are alleging is as dark as it gets in terms of sexual abuse,” lawyer Jeff Herman said Wednesday morning outside Bright Horizons at Baldwin Park.
Herman, who represents the families of two boys, ages three and four, filed a second lawsuit Tuesday against preschool teacher Jayrico Hamilton and Bright Horizons Children’s Centers. The first lawsuit was filed June 1. The boys in the suits were in the same preschool class, Herman said.
Neither family is named in the court documents.
Hamilton, 28, has not been charged with any crime. The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating, said agency spokesman David Ocasio.
Cheney Mason, Hamilton’s lawyer, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Hamilton’s lawyer requested a judge’s dismissal of the first suit, citing flaws with the lawsuit.
The lawsuits also accuse Bright Horizons Children’s Centers of failing to protect children by ignoring concerns brought by another teacher and doing an insufficient check of Hamilton’s references and social media accounts. Another teacher was removed from Hamilton’s classroom after reporting to the center director concerns that Hamilton was inappropriately touching children and “grooming” them, according to the lawsuits.
Bridget Perry, a spokeswoman for Bright Horizons, said the daycare center staff has been cooperating with the Department of Children and Families since a “situation” was reported to the daycare in May. Hamilton was terminated May 18.
“We have been communicating with families at the center throughout this process,” Perry said in an emailed statement. “We have no information that there are any developments in the investigation being conducted by the authorities,” she said.
The daycare center’s lawyer, Gregory Prusak, did not return calls seeking comment. In a legal document filed last week in response to the first lawsuit, Prusak asked a judge to dismiss the suit, claiming several reasons the complaints against Bright Horizons are insufficient.
“In summary, the Complaint … fails to demonstrate a sufficient statement of facts which shows that the alleged sexual battery allegedly committed by Jayrico Hamilton was foreseeable at Bright Horizons or that it had a legal duty to conduct an ongoing background check to search the social media sites of all of its employees,” the suit states.
Hamilton does not have a criminal history in Florida. According to the lawsuits, Bright Horizons hired Hamilton in September 2016.
Before moving to Florida, Hamilton was fired from his teaching position at a Navy Child Development Center in Virginia, according to the lawsuits. Court records in Virginia show Hamilton was convicted of making a bomb threat in 2012.
Well, that ought to qualify him for pre-school staff!!!! Seriously, just being a man ought to disqualify someone from becoming a child carer. It's just my opinion, but I think any man who wants to be around other people's children full-time is someone who needs to be watched like a hawk.
The boys have been undergoing therapy, Herman said. The lawyer said he’s heard from other families and said more lawsuits are possible.
Former Carpentersville substitute teacher
charged with sexual abuse
This is the 2nd story from Carpentersville in a week
CHICAGO NEWS, Jacob Wittich
A former northwest suburban substitute teacher was charged with sexually abusing a child younger than 13 years old.
Carlos A. Bedoya, a 61-year-old Lake in the Hills resident, was charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.
Bedoya, a former Community Unit School District 300 substitute teacher, made sexual contact with the victim between August 2016 and May 2017, according to prosecutors.
CUSD 300 includes several schools from elementary to high school in the northwest suburbs. Prosecutors did not specify at which schools Bedoya worked, not whether the victim was a student there.
Bedoya was taken into custody by Carpentersville police on July 18. Bond was set at $200,000 and his next court appearance was scheduled for July 26 in St. Charles.
If convicted, Bedoya faces up to three years in prison, prosecutors said. He would also have to register for life as a sexual offender.
'Adoptive grandfather' charged with
sexually abusing child
KETV
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa —
A court complaint alleges a Council Bluffs man would take off a girl's clothes and lock her in a room.
Other times he would give the child drinks that "tasted funny" and caused her to fall asleep.
Prosecutors in Pottawattamie County, Iowa have charged Donald Brammer, 77, with nine counts of second-degree sex abuse, one count of false imprisonment and one count of stalking.
He pleaded not guilty to the stalking charge in June.
According to court records, Brammer first met the girl, who is now age 14, through the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands in Council Bluffs. Connections Area Agency on Aging connected Brammer to the organization in 2012 through their "foster grandparent" program.
"He was an exemplary volunteer and beloved by the volunteer station, so I was surprised and devastated," Connections CEO Kelly Butts-Elston said.
Wednesday, The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands issued a statement saying it had not yet been contacted by law enforcement, but that it was ready to cooperate and "100% committed to the safety and welfare of our boys and girls and to the trust of our parents, staff and supporters."
Brammer was terminated from the volunteer program in April of 2015.
Butts-Elston said that's when Brammer admitted he was providing transportation to his mentee, which violates program rules.
"All of our volunteers have to volunteer at the site under the supervision of the volunteer station," Butts-Elston said, "the volunteers are never alone with any of the children that they work with."
The 77-year-old was arrested Friday in Glenwood after the alleged victim told authorities in early July that she had been sexually assaulted.
In her complaint, the girl described Brammer as her "adoptive grandfather", and described how he would lock her in his bathroom and allegedly sexually assault her there, in his bedroom, and in a spare room "that he made 'her room'".
According to a probable cause affidavit, in April 2015, the girl told Project Harmony investigators Brammer was "always buying her things", and said she was not sexually assaulted. She also said she "did not want to get Brammer into any trouble."
Then in January, 2016, the girl told a coach she may have been sexually assaulted. She then told investigators Brammer gave her drinks at his apartment that would "taste funny".
"She stated that she would feel sick shortly after having the drinks, would get dizzy, heave a headache, and would eventually fall asleep," the affidavit said.
The girl's parents say they told Brammer to stay away from the family , but he would continue to stop by the house to "drop things off", or sit in his truck in the girl's school parking lot, or show up at her soccer and volleyball games.
The girl's sisters recounted another incident where Brammer allegedly showed up unannounced at the family's open front door. When the girl's father closed the door, Brammer walked around to the backyard.
Brammer is in custody at the Pottawattamie County jail. The Pottawattamie County Attorney's office declined to comment on the investigation. The girl's family has asked for privacy, and Brammer's attorney has not returned KETV's phone calls.
Brammer is due back in court to face the second degree sex abuse charges next week.
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